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California Wants to Make Drought Restrictions a Way of Life

State policymakers are trying to push water conservation without fearmongering.
A worker adjusts a water irrigation system in a field near San Ysidro, California. REUTERS/Mike Blake

California is easing its hardline stance on urban water policy as it seeks to make a conservation a normal way of life, the L.A. Times reported Monday.

Governor Jerry Brown issued an executive order that requires local water suppliers to continue reporting their monthly usage to the state, and to set up long-term contingency plans. The order also permanently bans explicitly wasteful practices such as hosing down driveways and sidewalks, and watering lawns to the point of excess runoff. Ensuring that the state is prepared for a drier future is the key.